North Dakota Geological Survey Wilson M. Laird
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NORTH DAKOTA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WILSON M. LAIRD , STATE GEOLOGIST REPORT OF INVESTIGATION NO. 44 NOTES ON PLEISTOCENE STRATIGRAPHY OF NORTH DAKOTA by LEE CLAYTON GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 1966 NOTES ON PLEISTOCENE STRATIGRAPHY OF NORTH DAKOTA by Lee Clayton Purpose. - -This publication is a progress report and supplement to the recent summary of the Pleistocene stratigraphy of North Dakota by Lemke and others (1965). They concluded (tab. 2, p. 22) that the "tenuous nature of stratigraphic information on glacial deposits makes correlation of radiocarbon-dated localities with...ice advances impractical at present." A more optimistic view is taken here; most of the radiocarbon dates from the state are correlated with named phases of glaciation or phases of Lake Agassiz, and an attempt is made to correlate these with dated events in surrounding areas. Terminology. -- All of the named surface drifts of North Dakota are shown in table 1. Corresponding ice-margin positions are shown in figure 1. The named drifts are ecostratigraphic units (Krumbein and Sloss, 1963, p. 51), a variety of which has been called morphostratigraphic units by Frye and Willman (1960). The drifts were deposited during named phases (minor advances), which are subdivisions of stades, which are a kind of ecochronologic unit called "geologic-climate units" by the American Com mission of Stratigraphic Nomenclature (1961, art. 39). (Geologic-climate units are not ecostratigraphic units, as stated by Krumbein and Sloss, 1963, p. 51, because they are referred to as episodes or units of time rather than as bodies of rock.) These phases are shown in figure 2. The named surface drifts are lithologically indistinguish able on a regional scale and therefore belong to a single lithostratigraphic unit that will be defined in a later report. Figure 1. - -Significant late Pleistocene ice-margin positions in North Dakota. Letters correspond to phases indicated in figure 2. Modified from Colton and others (1963). -2 NORTH DAKOTA ri,' (F~G) ~ I --'\';~~~ ----", - . -J-\-- -1\ '{ I I \ I \ I" 'F\- K 11 I K ·RnLET I \ \ , I E- J , l A -", HI J . I C Ai ALE R \1 c' M " '. k A (0 / \ i/'" I 1"1 \ '" I o T T , ,_ I' '(,K \ -, '1 TOWNER" 1 -; R K t: ~ I ,- t, I '- -\ L\ ~/ '~ --, I \ I I 1\ 1\ 1--- L ,-1- I _ t- \ f-- _-- ,- - ....l. \ - - - - ~ +,7 --D? -- ;_ E-J I i ~ - - '- I I -, 1 1 I I i --'--; I L _\_ ':... - ..I , ~I--_-.J' I ~ > I I, Ll WAH ) ....,. lft'iI l' 'J I ~ 0, 'l I W' "MSL.., K Ip,eR,1 I ,AMSEY It<'> I I i - L - - L9:\~.-- -- --'\ ,I Me ,. E N l I p I : M 0 u' T RA IL W " I \ 'l I \ <;. \ I \ L I ~ /\ r "- ~C"'~.J- , I 'I .... ,.~ I/'..11"\ ~ ~ \ \ I " \S" If'\ I "\ oj I 1\ /\J ..... " \ , . .s -r" • r.. 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IE o L I ~ L BARNES L, A S I --- D' 1 BILL I N G S , " \ L 1 _ I -1~ I I L ,_ ..J _ ~.:, BURLElr~ 101 R' I.GOLDEN Or/ I l \ B 0 I 6l Ji;. ,- __ ~. 0" \ ~ ~~ ~ 1\ ---\ ' II ) IVALLEY: I , -9 I (0 I " ~ ~'"~ ~ l 'to \ 0:> 1 (Or _I _ ~_,L \ -\ -, . \ 0 I Of 0 I I R T o N V\~ -0 (, 0- I II" rl1 C C",~- \- 7-0-0;- - I . I ~L ..J -\ M I RAN o ?' o? __+_-\ \ .I \ \ :_ ..J <v<:J I 1\ \ J '. ~ ( I 1. 0 ;:~ I' L!I M0 U R £ I H[TTII\iGER \ !RICHLAND\ I I' \ C.>'?'" /,-.~."" _.\- 'I \ "?' r \ L. .,~ \ \ \ I A -I . \ . I (:,'v I I I r'/ (\ F " M 0 N S ~ _1- 1_ --- -- ~ -"-I -0-<f- I l, G .. R ;., \ T ./ .,. I B ( IIG I- -I " ..s' I \ 1- 0' K E' ' " ....., .v "\ I N T C \-,,_~- " .1 S A R G £ N f I .~ ~.- ~ a 0 W M A N f-'"' (./' ""./.. 0 1 I E )\ G M S .......... \ ' /' I " D . \ /~ -" I __ ., .--.L __.. ~~, .--L.__ \~e~.~--.. ..J-.I··_-·--" __ ....J-1 .. - ....-,r- ~._,<; L..-. 25 20 is 10 5 0 6 12 18 24 10 c-±-t t E=±= ~- ~'j SCALE OF MIL ES Mil50uri IIIE W Missouri Ni.sour, River Missouri Drill Red River NE Drif~ro i r i e Red ~~VI~~y Cote au o i "I" ,..... Prairie -------l Volley a; c ~~~-~~" ~.Ds= t) c: U- Q. u- u .. ~~ ~~~ u o r-7!=\ cD o a:: o 510 ~nonl n !..- :::. m I'.I·--w -1019 ,...:\ \-:-: (9.0) ------- :~I ?'///////////////////////////:?~/////~ i.. ·.., Ji,.JT-d : I 1= wJ_" •g -I Spruce, efc., J10 ~ ~ (9.2) l' "6.. - I r E.ponded 01 left ;:: I~ ~I " -; ~ ' ! Q. W/~//////////////////////////////////////,.r;:::: ice 1-=1 pollen I Qn~m11J Z.!.e1~d_r:;"~n~~~:~\lll U111IU~11 I~ W(~lt1- ~i Phose c. ;\". W-1361(9.8) ~ , .." ., ~ .'" W-136 ~.•.~ W-1436 ;:,:1 Q. and ,.;... >:(~.8) 1 ? o I~: (IO~) ~;-I o ...J V on much of IX ' o Formation of 8 1__ , W-954 :-~I I .. 0 2' W-1005~~'~ ~o ? W-1434 (9.0). mocrofossi Is .. N I c:1 C .c ( 10 Il Vif900 , r;; Boulder pavements Coleau I=- (lOll =1 I [ (10.1) / Deposition Iv at ba se W-993 I 0 1~2 Phase b. r·,':. j (9.9) r;; I~ ~I at Paleosols ~ '" i I h u 1.:'I of .. 0 I~ ~I ~ 0 t h i n o ~o_ IJl o ... 6 .. 0 W-723 ,.., and r;; . .. ~ 0 Ice-walled I k W-956 (11.0) a es?r; (III) -Icd pasl-~Iacial ? ..... c:' .. .~ I a e 8 s o .D f- 0 ...J Oxidized zones ~I 0 c: =-1 r;; lilt u ? o u slou~hs I .. W-S42 W-1433 W-990 /1 .. .- -':1 Phase o. 0 l .- J::;' ~I ~IIIIIII .. l~ () 38.0) h 38.0) 11 contolning (liS) =-. ..o ~ c mTfl,"" ""","'1111111111 .:1 - I ••;.;. Y-1327 c ~ Napoleon phase ~I 0 - illITJJT Wl!IUillIIlI (ogeuncertain) «'" - I V "-=. .- ( 11.7) 0 Cf'- , -. -I 3 .,. W-402 --- ---"~IIIII"'''''' .. « ~ Q. o aquatic 1I~ ~I ~,." Form alian of ? , o Edinbur o Deposition of > operslown Phose,~""' 0&8 ."'.,',',','....,'....... 1 ... ~ ·-.. ,. ' '" • "'... ,', ., ~.. ~roI!1lTIfuiliTI1"'~;~';;;;;"' Q. m a II" I' " ...,"'... +- IT"" Boulder pavements ? 1 o slre" .. "'~ - UJ <!!ill@1l'W0C'----""· I hick loess I, W-974 ~Irllii~'':.:..'lillJll_~llllllt(-~~)--.-. 0 (11.7) __ "o ...J Paleosols ..,., l Burnslad Phase I~I."y_~~~lllllliIT~~;IT11111111~-I~SiJ t",~,", <!1UiITU-nnT1TTT[ilTJiQ'i.t;n Ph a s e ITTIITm I[ffi\ f ~U1lJ. (12.8) ( 12.S) -- -( age uncerlain)- -and o o o (rtfm~llIll\lli~WJ\ r-- ---.---- ...i I . <il[illillJ~lilllliJJI red we 01h erin ~ Oxidized zones iii (() lllllilllillilllllliJ? 3 W-1045-------- @[1JUJIDarUlT~~'G,~e~.ml~\m[m\ I ..---W.IS28 .... () 28.0) ll. - 4 Figure 2. - -Time-distance (ecochronologic) diagram of Pleistocene events from northeastern to southwestern North Dakota. Left- hand diagram is an expansion of latest Wisconsinan part of the right-hand diagram. Time stratigraphic units are shown on the right-hand side of each diagram. Values of radiocarbon dates in parentheses are in thousands of years. Named phases of glaciation have a vertical-line pattern and correspond to named drifts shown in table 1 and to named ice-margin positions shown in figure 1. The presence of stagnant glacial ice on the Missouri Coteau until about 9, 000 B.P. is shown in the area with a horizontal-line pattern. The phases of glacial Lake Agassiz are shown with a dotted pattern. -5 All radiocarbon dates mentioned are from Lemke and others (1965) or Reid and Rubin (in preparation) unless otherwise stated. They are shown in figure 2. Old drifts. -- Knowledge of old (and presumably pre-Wisconsinan) drifts in North Dakota is scattered. Red weathered and cemented outwash occurs beneath the oldest surface drift in Logan County (Clayton, 1962, p. 55) and in Mountrail County a mile north of the Four Bears Bridge. The color is similar to that resulting from supposed Sangamon weathering in other parts of the midcontinent area, though the red color in North Dakota may be related to local groundwater conditions. Radiocarbon date W-1045 (28,700 B.P.) is from organic material beneath (not in; Lemke and others, 1965, tab. 2), red cemented and highly leached and weathered outwash gravel (not till; Lemke and others, 1965, tab. 2), underlying the Napoleon Drift in Logan County. The organic material may be Paleocene lignite containing Recent rootlets; it appears to be conformable with the underlying bedrock. Old strongly- jointed tills have been exposed in cuts in many parts of the state, including northern Ward County (Lemke and Kay, 1958, p.